Helen, Author at Actually Mummy

Home: A Star Wars Room Makeover

March 10, 2021August 12, 2015

Recently, the Bug celebrated his eighth birthday. It has taken me eight years to give him the bedroom of his dreams, and four to post about phase 1. With phase 2 completed when he moved into his new bunk bed, I decided it was finally time to publish the cuteness that is him discovering his new Star Wars bedroom – he was four! How to create a Star Wars room makeover From the age of four, my son has been obsessed with Star Wars. Other themes have drifted in and out of his life (Skylanders, Moshi Monsters, Minions), but Star Wars …

Travel: A Sleepover at the Zoo

May 8, 2021August 4, 2015

What do Frubes, Minions, and chimps have in common? Not much at first glance, but when you bring them together they’re a huge amount of fun. This week the people from Frubes took us on the experience of a lifetime – a sleepover at the zoo! To celebrate their partnership with the new Minions movie, Frubes have launched a limited edition banana flavour, and they were keen to let us sample the new packs during an overnight stay in the lodges at Whipsnade Zoo. Jane, from Northern Mum sips wine on deck. The Lookout Lodges are set across the road …

Being Brave: BritMums and Type 1 Diabetes

May 21, 2019August 2, 2015

In June 2015 I attended the BritMums Live conference for parenting bloggers. I have been many times to the event, and have transitioned from nervous new blogger to being relaxed and excited to catch up with friends and discover new brands. I have spoken at the event in previous years, and gained valuable experience in public-speaking. I have even read a blogger keynote speech before – a funny one that gave me the satisfaction of a few audience laughs. This year though, I was brave. This year I spoke out about what it means to suffer a life-changing event in …

Travel: Sandbanks – Possibly the best beach in Britain

March 15, 2016July 30, 2015

Is this the best beach in Britain? Yesterday we were in Poole, awaiting a ferry to visit family in the Channel Islands. With the ferry scheduled to leave first thing in the morning, we decided to skip the early start and head down to Poole for the night, to enjoy the harbour and the wonderful beach there. We spent a happy couple of hours wandering round the gift shops and staring open-mouthed at the enormous boats in the Sunseeker boatyard, before heading over to Sandbanks to relax at the Sandbanks hotel. Sandbanks is a 1 kilometre stretch of sand which …

School: Inspiring Teachers

May 8, 2021July 24, 2015

The power of inpsiring teachers I’m posting this image because I’m hugely self-indulgent. I’m indulging myself because this short piece of work came home with J this week as she signed off from Year 5, and I confess it caused a small tear. It caused a tear because though I’ve always known she was capable of good writing, it’s only this year that she has found within herself the motivation to actually prove it to herself. This was written by the girl who, aged 6, in Year 2, scribbled all over her work in frustration when asked to improve …

Travel: Canadian Road Trip for Dinosaur Enthusiasts

November 17, 2016July 15, 2015

Road trips are something the whole family can enjoy - especially the dinosaur fans! Travel Alberta invites you to experience #AlbertaDinosaurs

Once upon a time a boy met a girl. The girl loved travel, and the boy loved adventure. They fell for each other and set about a series of road trips in their holiday time. Cool open-top cars drew them along gorgeous coastlines, and through stunning landscapes. They stopped in cities for cocktails, on beaches to see whales, and in rocky mountains to watch bears and breathe the freshest air. Then they got married and had children. The end. Except it wasn’t. Sure, they travelled short-haul for a few years, while they worked up the nerve to fly further afield …

Merry Christmas! Pines and Needles Christmas Tree Delivery Review

May 8, 2021July 13, 2015

Oh yes I did. I did just wish you a merry Christmas. And I appreciate that with many of you just about to head off on your summer holidays, Christmas may not be top of your agenda right now. But it should be. Because I have an offer for you that you really don’t want to miss. Christmas Tree Decoration image from Shutterstock Christmas Tree stress You know the romantic image you have of heading out a week before Christmas Eve together to choose your tree? That one special tree that is destined to be yours, that then won’t fit …

An Interview with the Loose Women

July 9, 2015July 7, 2015

An interview with Loose Women Nadia Sawalha and Kaye Adams

Now it’s no secret that I’ve had my virtual falling-outs with the team at Loose Women. They are not girls to hold back, nor do they profess to be experts in any of their discussion topics. What they are, is opionated, outspoken women, who don’t hold back on what they believe. A bit like me, and lots of other women – and that’s a good thing. They are not always right, as the link above illustrates, but they do get things talked about, and for that reason I was happy to take the opportunity to conduct an interview with Loose …

Travel: A Well-Travelled Bear

January 21, 2017July 4, 2015

A little bear left to what fate? Soar Mill Cove

What happened at Soar Mill Cove… We found him, miles from anywhere, at the bottom of a narrow lane, in a sandy cove. The car was brushed by soft ferns on either side, as we made our way down the hill; we prayed we wouldn’t meet strangers coming up the other way, and we were lucky – a roadside standoff wasn’t needed. We ran, released from our journey, through fields and over stiles, tumbling happy towards the sea. Pink splashes of foxglove and heather punctuated our route as we breathed in the salty air and the wind whipped at our …

Home: Boys Room Makeover (part 1) GLTC Bunk Bed

May 21, 2019June 30, 2015

A new bunk bed for the Bug. The Bug has been needing a room makeover for a while. When we moved to this house 6 years ago, the room he acquired was pink. He wasn’t quite 2, so it didn’t seem a big deal, and we put it on our to-do list. Six years later, we still hadn’t acted on our plans to create a cool bedroom for our boy, so when GLTC offered us a bunk bed, we knew we could delay no longer. GLTC are well-known for lovely kids furniture, and we have previously gone for the white or …

Shoulda Woulda Could Of

May 23, 2019June 19, 2015

How terrible grammar on social media makes it difficult to learn English

If you’re anything like me, the title of this post makes your blood boil. It doesn’t? Read on… As my children get older, I am increasingly concerned about social media. Ah! my family (and that teacher I met once) exclaim. At last, she’s seen the light! All that grooming and online bullying, not to mention the the dangers of accidentally clicking on something no young eyes should ever see. Thank goodness. But it’s not that. I still firmly maintain that the earlier a child gains supervised access to social media, the more likely it is that he will learn …

Why Type 1 Diabetes is like a newborn baby

September 21, 2020June 12, 2015

Winning Best Schooldays blog at the MAD blog awards was an emotional moment

This time last year I was excited about an impending event. The MAD Blog Awards finalists had just been announced and I was on the list. I rubbed my hands at the thought of a great night out with some fabulous bloggers, and started planning my dress. I probably cracked open a bottle of something fizzy and told Twitter all about it. It’s a big deal, The MAD’s and I’m always so thrilled to be a part of it. Six months later I arrived at the awards ceremony with bleeding heels from a last minute stagger along Knightsbridge, having thrown …

The Railway Children

May 29, 2015

A review of The Railway Children stage production, by GG… Recently we went to see the railway children in London. It includes a real steam train and it feels like you’re sitting on a platform. First you enter the theatre and it looks like a proper train station waiting room. We bought some malteasers to eat in the theatre. When you walk in the cast walk around the stage and talk to you. The actress playing the mother came and talked to us and she was very friendly. When the performance started ,the children talked about the story as if …

Parenting: How to Rock the Period Talk

December 3, 2021May 21, 2015

Taking the awkwardness out of periods for parents of young girls

Brave Bones

April 27, 2017May 20, 2015

I looked at my son and my heart melted. Well done you! the lady at the first checkpoint congratulated him. You just cycled 5 miles! I cringed and prayed that he hadn’t heard – I’d been telling him for the last ten minutes that he was already eight miles into his twenty mile charity cycle ride. He’d heard. I upped my motivational skills. My daughter called me a slavedriver and refused to be motivated. With every hill I cheered “Walk, don’t wander! Make it count!” At the ten mile point Actually Daddy suggested that we downgrade our aspirations and make do with …

Football Mum of the Year

June 30, 2016May 16, 2015

I sit here merrily typing at my kitchen desk, courtesy of Actually Daddy. Saturday mornings are his territory; it’s my day for a lie-in, and for catching up with Facebook work. Saturday is when he takes the kids to football practice. I was perpelexed when my six-year-old daughter told me she wanted to join the football club at school. I signed her up, and intensified our shoelace-tying lessons – she was totally doing that stint on her own! No way was I standing in the cold on a dark winter’s evening while my child threw herself around a muddy field. …

Orla Kiely Backpack review

September 21, 2020May 11, 2015

I am not known as a designer bag girl. I have friends whose cupboards are filled with thousands of pounds worth of beautiful bags; who transfer the contents of their handbags daily, so they can sport the perfect tote for their day, or their outfit. Personally, I’ve never seen the point, when there’s so much money to spent on shoes, and holidays, and gorgeous food. Until now… Orla Kiely backpack review The Pod Company – possibly spotting a style need in me – offered to send me an Orla Kiely bag to review, and another one to giveaway. Now, I …

Around Barbados on an inflatable sofa

June 15, 2020May 8, 2015

“Hold. On. Tight!” I managed to gasp as all the air was pushed out of my lungs, and my cheeks did an impression of the worst face-lift in history. Torn between keeping my suddenly very small-looking child safe, and preventing my own ungainly demise into the ocean, I alternated between white-knuckling the grips, and resting an ineffectual elbow across his belly. My husband was screaming at the other end of the sofa; I could just make out the words “lunch” and “shrimp,” as I realised he was fearful for the contents of his stomach. “Mine’s halfway up my oesophagus!” shouted my …

How to spend £100

September 8, 2016May 6, 2015

I’ve not been around much recently, but my mother, on seeing this particular nugget of a blog headline, decided that I would be the best candidate to answer the question. She’s probably right. You really don’t want to know what she’d spend £100 on. But I’m going to tell you anyway, just so you know what kind of person she really is. Yoghurt. Every week she does a grocery shop and comes back home with £100 of yoghurt. (This may be a slight exaggeration – she does occasionally add milk, ham and juice to the fridge. Oh, and Cheerios). But …

Helen